2010-05-17

This weekend we got some dirt to fill up our raised bed boxes, thanks to a friend for letting us dig up his side yard, and my dad for helping dig and supplying the truck to move the dirt in! That being done, we planted our first veggies of the season (not counting herbs) - 4 varieties of tomatoes (three large and one cherry), a mild yellow pepper, and a spicy thai pepper.

Here's hoping they produce well, we're hoping for some pickling and canning adventures at the end of the summer!

2010-05-08

Things have been pretty run-of-the-mill around this part of the world lately. I mentioned the milk we're getting, and we've already succeeded in making crème fraîche and paneer cheese for an Indian curry we're making this week.

This morning we had my parents over for brunch and had some omelettes (with aforementioned crème fraîche), bread, cheese, prosciutto, some fresh fruit, coffee, tea, etc. They brought us some lovely flowers from their yard, and we had a really nice time.

At the moment, we're just enjoying our home, and the bright, warm sunshine pouring in the windows. The weather this spring so far has been a bit wild, but the last two or three days have been absolutely beautiful, and we're soaking it up as much as possible.

We had some amazing clouds during the day yesterday, and we ended up going out for a short bike ride at about 9.30 last night, just to get some air, it felt so nice out. Then after brunch this morning, we rode out to get some coffee and head to the store to get some plants for the moms on Trina's side of the family, not a cloud in the sky. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

2010-05-04

We have recently started getting fresh, raw milk from a farm about an hour south of Portland. We are part of a buying group where we get milk each week, in which each member takes a turn going down to the farm one week during a rotation, picking up everyone's milk, and then dropping it off at a single place in Portland, where the rest of the group's members pick it up that day. Milk is delivered within 24 hours of when it was milked.

This last weekend we went down to the farm, met the ladies who run it, met the two beautiful milking cows, last year's and this year's calves, got our fingers sucked on by the youngest cow, saw the milking operation, had a good chat and a nice walk around the farm, and we're now even more excited to be supporting them, and getting their delicious milk. Coming to our home in the near future - cow's milk feta, yogurt, crème fraîche, and paneer.